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Combs was born in San Diego, California and has described herself as being of Irish descent.[2][3] At the time of her birth, her mother, Lauralei Combs (née Berckhem), was sixteen years old and her father was seventeen.[2] Combs' biological parents married, but the two split up after two years,[4] feeling they were too young to make a marriage work. While Combs was learning to walk, she hit her head on a marble table, resulting in a scar over her right eyebrow. She went through many different homes with her mother, near the beach in San Diego often having very little privacy, while her mother attempted to pursue an acting career.[5] When Combs was seven, she and her mother moved to New York City where she spent most of her growing years. She was 12 when her mother married her stepfather. In New York City, Combs attended Beekman Hill Elementary and then the Professional Children's School.[citation needed]

Combs' first major breakthrough as an actress came at the age of 18, in the CBS television series Picket Fences.[6] She portrayed Kimberly Brock, the daughter of Sheriff Jimmy Brock (played by Tom Skerritt) and Dr. Jill Brock (played by Kathy Baker), for the show's four seasons (1992–96).[6] Combs auditioned for the role in New York. The casting agent told her that she wasn't right for the part because she "didn't have a big enough heart." Combs retorted, "If you're looking for someone with a big heart, what the hell are you doing in New York?". She was later called back and offered the job.[2] Combs won a Young Artist Award for her performance on the show.[7][8] During 1996, Combs starred as Sophie DiMatteo in Sins of Silence, a drama/horror television film directed by Sam Pillsbury. The following year, Combs portrayed real-life convicted murderess Diane Zamora in the television film Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder, and appeared in the fact-based drama film Daughters as Alex Morell, one of the two daughters of a murdered heiress.[6]

In 1998, Combs landed a lead role in The WB television series Charmed, in which she portrayed Piper Halliwell, the middle of three sisters who are witches.[6] Following Shannen Doherty's departure after season three (2000–01), Combs' character became the eldest sister for the remaining five seasons of the show.[6] Combs became a producer for Charmed from season five onwards.[9] The series ended its run on May 21, 2006. In 2008, AOL named Combs' character Piper the third greatest witch in television history.[10] Combs is the only cast member to appear in the unaired pilot and every episode of the series.

During Charmed, Combs made a cameo appearance in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven (2001), and starred opposite Charisma Carpenter in the romantic comedy film See Jane Date (2003), portraying the role of "a struggling actress whose career benefits from an affair with an A-list actor."[6] In 2007, she starred in the Lifetime television film Panic Button as Kathy Alden, a wife and mother of a single child whose family moves to a "beautiful and supposedly secure gated community after she's the victim of a violent house break-in."[11] The following year, Combs signed a contract with Lifetime to produce and star in a series Mistresses, based on the British series of the same name.[12] However, that version of the show never made it to air. (ABC later made a version featuring Combs' former Charmed co-star Alyssa Milano.) In 2010, Combs was cast in the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars as Ella Montgomery, the mother of one of the main characters, Aria Montgomery (played by Lucy Hale).[13] Combs was a series regular for the first three seasons, but beginning in season four, became credited as a special guest star.[citation needed]

On July 24, 2014, it was announced that Combs and Doherty would be starring in their own road trip reality show called Off the Map with Shannen & Holly, which premiered on Great American Country on January 2, 2015.[14][15] The six-episode series follows the pair traveling across southeastern United States, with stops in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.[16] Viewers were able to vote on activities Doherty and Combs would partake in at each destination on Great American Country's official website.[16]

She then went on to marry former Charmed key-grip and long-time boyfriend David Donoho on February 14, 2004. They are the parents of three sons: Finley Arthur Donoho (born April 26, 2004), Riley Edward Donoho (born October 26, 2006) and Kelley James Donoho (born May 26, 2009), all born by caesarian section (with Kelley being an emergency C-section). Combs kept her third pregnancy a secret because it was high risk, with a delivery at 35 weeks.[18] Combs smoked cigarettes from the age of 15 until giving them up when pregnant with her first child.[19] In November 2011, she filed for divorce for her second marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.[20]